Benjamin vies for State Senate seat

“It is important to come together,” says State Senate candidate Brian Benjamin.

Brian Benjamin was bitten by the political activist bug at an early age.

The Harlem native said he grew up in a strict household where both parents were union members.

“I had an understanding at an early age of the labor movement,” said Benjamin. “I could empathize with people trying to make ends meet, and just do the right thing for their family.”

His mother, an immigrant from Guyana, was politically active and dragged him to “pretty much every Democratic convention” as a child and introduced him to Reverend Jesse Jackson at age eight.

Benjamin is now on the verge of taking his own political motivation to Albany, as the Democratic nominee for the upcoming special election for New York State Senate for the 30th District, which is overwhelmingly Democratic.

The election, to be held on May 23, was called by Governor Andrew Cuomo to fill the vacant seat created when former Senator Bill Perkins was elected to the City Council in February.

Facing off against Benjamin are Republican Dawn Simmons and Reform Party candidate Ruben D. Vargas.

Reverend Jesse Jackson was an early influence.

A longtime community organizer and member of Community Board 10, Benjamin also serves as managing director of Genesis Companies, a development firm for affordable housing.

Despite his background, he suggested that the key to putting a dent in the city’s affordable housing crisis is to preserve the housing that exists, rather than rely on new construction.

“It’s hard for affordable housing developers to compete with luxury housing in this city,” said Benjamin, who

said he champions a repeal of vacancy decontrol, which allows landlords to dodge limits on rent control. “The incentives behind rent regulations are perverted incentives and help push people out of their homes,” he said. “We should not have incentives to encourage landlords to jack up rent.”

Benjamin said that residential buildings are not the only issue.

“On commercial rents, there are a lot of small business that are part of a neighborhood’s character, and they’re also getting pushed out,” he stated. “Throughout the entire district, everyone’s dealing with the same issue.”

Benjamin insisted that his real estate background gives him a unique perspective to address housing concerns.

On the stump with City Comptroller Scott Stringer.

“I believe that someone like me would understand what needs to be done,” he remarked. “All the ULURP processes, I’m very familiar with incentives, and I’d use that knowledge to help the people in my community.”

As special elections do not require primaries, the local county committee of the Democratic Party held a convention on March 11 to select its candidate. Benjamin won 170 of 263 votes to best district leaders Al Taylor and John Ruiz.

The vote was not without controversy, as the other candidates accused the party of favoritism toward Benjamin.

“One of the things that was accused was that I had information before other people had it, and that’s really just not true,” Benjamin, who made a plea for Democratic Party unity.

“Quite frankly, we need our state and local officials working together to protect us from what’s going on in Washington. There’s so much [that is] under attack,” he said.

He also has the support of numerous labor unions, including 1199 SEIU, New York State United Teachers, 32BJ SEIU, Hotel Trades Council and Teamsters Local 237.

“I think it means that although I’ll be a new official [if elected], people think I’ll be able to get legislation done,” said Benjamin.

If elected, Benjamin said he wants to explore a Medicare for All single-payer healthcare system and intends to support passage of the DREAM Act, as well as an overhaul of the public education funding system.

He also advocated for criminal justice reform in order to speed the city’s goal of closing Rikers Island. “We need to reduce the prison population quickly. There are many people on Rikers who really should be in a mental health facility or some type of job program,” Benjamin said.

“I think we should do away with the bail system ― it punishes people who are poor,” he said. “The lion’s share of cases running through our system are petty crimes.”

Benjamin, here with Akeem Browder (brother of Kalief), has called for Rikers’ closure.

Benjamin said, if elected, he would be joining the mainline State Senate Democrats, headed by State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and not the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC).

Candidate Ruben D. Vargas is running on the Reform Party line.

There are currently three divisions within the Senate – 22 mainline Democrats, 8 IDC members, and Sen. Simcha Felder, a Brooklyn Democrat who caucuses with the Republicans, providing the 32nd vote needed for the latter’s majority within the chamber.

A victory for Benjamin would grant the Democrats a numerical majority – 32 of a total 63 seats.

“If elected on May 23, I will be the 32nd Democrat,” promised Benjamin. “Key legislation will not happen as long as Republicans are able to assert control. It is important to come together, not just for us or from the people who elected us.”

The Special Election for the 30th State Senate District is to be held on Tues., May 23rd, which encompasses the neighborhoods of Harlem, East Harlem, Upper West Side, Washington Heights, Hamilton Heights and Morningside Heights. For more on the election and voting information, please visit the New York City Board of Elections at http://bit.ly/1rRTCsc or call 212.886.2100.